Smoke
by MagnaFae
Summary: After five years of humiliation at the hands of the Powerpuff Girls, Mojo Jojo devised the perfect plan to crush them, once and for all. But as he attempted to create his magnum opus, the Rowdyruff boys, mainly Boomer, discovered something game-changing. He just didn't expect to find her in the ruins of an Egyptian temple, or for her to seem so familiar for some reason.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Within the walls of the Townsville Penitentiary, the activity level of the staff had skyrocketed in the timespan of a mere fifteen minutes. Being a huge fan of the Powerpuff Girls, he wanted to be at the firework finale to the Power-Palooza Parade, an event meant to celebrate the local superhero trio. He had been adamant about leaving to see it, even if it meant bribing the employees so that his absence would not be reported to the higher-ups.

It went about as smoothly as one would expect.

Once the warden had left the facility, many of the less devoted guards immediately dashed from their stations to the mess hall. There, one among them had stashed a cooler full of beers, which had been saved for "emergencies" only.

In the wake of the initial migration, it was clear which employees were committed to their jobs, even in the boss's absence. One such guard was stationed outside a high security cell.

The man wished he could say he wasn't swayed by the peer pressure of his coworkers to join them in the merriment, but it had taken all of his willpower just to decline their invitation. Moreover, the distant sounds of laughter and rap music coming from the other end of the building were growing more difficult to resist with each passing moment.

As the guard stood there awkwardly, another man in the same uniform approached him with a slight skip in his step. "Hey Joey," greeted the passing guard, "you wanna grab a drink with the rest of us?"

Joey the guard sighed and replied reluctantly, "Can't do it, Aaron." He pointed to the cell behind him. " _This_ one's too dangerous to leave alone for too long."

"Come on, Joey, lighten up," Aaron chided, playfully punching his coworker's shoulder. "Where's your sense of adventure? Everyone is having a great time in the mess hall and you're stuck here! All I'm asking for is one drink! I swear it will only take a few minutes out of your life," he waved a hand dismissively at the prisoner, who appeared fast asleep on his cot, "and then you can go back to watching Monkey-business over there." Aaron casually relaxed his shoulders and grinned mischievously, "Whaddya say?"

Making eye contact with Aaron, Joey's resistance finally crumbled, and he returned the smile with an eager nod. "Okay, but just one beer! I'm still mentally recovering from the hangover I got from our sci-fi drinking game two days ago."

With that, the two guards sprinted down the hall, leaving behind the most infamous resident of the Townsville Penitentiary.

The green-skinned, black-furred simian grinned beneath his covers and threw them off as soon as he could no longer hear the footsteps of the two guards.

"These foolish fools are truly foolish!" The primate muttered triumphantly to himself. "First they decide to place me in the same, exact cell they kept me in before, and now they leave me alone and unguarded so I may execute my diabolical plan of escape!" The primate removed his helmet, revealing the massive brain that protruded from his skull. He then made his way to the toilet in the corner of his cell.

"Honestly, they should know better when dealing with the greatest villain Townsville had ever seen: Mojo Jojo!" He threw his arms upwards and laughed maniacally before scooping up a few cups of the cloudy toilet water.

"In fact," Mojo Jojo continued to himself and he moved towards the window, being careful not to spill the liquid, "the foolish fools have yet to realize that their toilet water contains miniscule, trace amounts of Chemical X!"

He thought back to four weeks ago, when the Powerpuff Girls had defeated him, yet again, and tossed him into prison. Ever since those girls had appeared, Mojo Jojo had existed in a vicious cycle of devising plans, being thwarted, and falling in defeat. In spite of his horrendous track record, the primate mastermind chose to believe that with each defeat, he was growing closer and closer to crushing the girls. Slowly but surely, he was learning their strengths, weaknesses, and strategies. One of these days, he told himself, he would formulate the perfect plan, and finally emerge victorious, as he so rightfully deserved.

Initially, he had expected this particular stay in prison to be his shortest yet, an estimated two days at the longest, as he had planned to spend all of his time devising new ways to escape.

The past five days, however, had sapped all concentration, and even a substantial amount of confidence, from Mojo Jojo.

When rumors spread among the inmates about the Power-Palooza, Mojo Jojo hadn't believed them. Townsville would never find a way to pay for a five-day festival, he told himself, especially after his latest battle with the girls, which had left a considerable number of the city's buildings in need of repair.

Apparently, he had been wrong.

He woke up on Monday morning to a raucous combination of stamping feet, incessant shouting, and obnoxious music. He was able to see the tops of the largest floats from his high-up window, but he could only imagine the grand scale of this event. Mojo Jojo had spent the rest of that day huddled in the opposite corner from that window, trying in vain to keep the sounds outside from reaching his sensitive ears.

The rest of the week had progressed much in the same way; everywhere in the prison, staff and inmates spoke about the celebrations, and it infuriated Mojo to no end. This could have been a festival honoring _him_ , he thought. After all, the chemical reaction that had created the Powerpuff Girls was the very same that mutated him from an average monkey into a simian supergenius.

Ever since his transformation, Mojo Jojo knew he had the potential to change the world for the better, and create a society where everyone would be happy under his rule. Sure, his methods weren't the most diplomatic, but that didn't mean he deserved to wallow in prison while his greatest adversaries were showered with praise. It seemed that no citizen in Townsville truly valued him or his intelligence.

Mojo Jojo chuckled to himself as he tested the bars on the window, snapping them off one by one. How lucky he had been to steal some soap from the showers. Blending it with corrosive chemicals from the toilet allowed him to slowly erode the bars until they were brittle enough to break with his bare hands.

When Mojo Jojo thought about it, there were only three individuals who even acknowledged his worth and meant something to him in return: the Rowdyruff Boys.

Although they didn't live with him anymore, the boys came to visit Mojo Jojo in his lair quite frequently. He was so proud that they had begun do evil independently at the young age of six.

The boys would soon be turning ten years old, Mojo remembered suddenly as the last bar broke off. He made a mental note to buy them presents before they barged into his lair and claimed something anyway.

Multicolored flashes of light in the sky, followed by a booming din, told him that the fireworks show had just begun. That meant that nearly every citizen in Townsville would be outside of the city limits.

Now was the time to make his getaway.

Cradling his helmet under one arm, Mojo used his other arm to climb through his window and inch along quietly on a ledge on the outside wall. As many villains tend to do, Mojo Jojo considered aloud the plans he would set into action as soon as he returned home.

"The boys are powerful, there is no doubt about that, but they have too many obviously weaknesses that can be easily exploited by the girls." He flung himself to a nearby building under the cover of the darkness, taking care only to move between the bursts of fireworks.

"The girls don't have any clear, obvious weaknesses, but they are not as strong as my boys." He hopped across a few more rooftops before crouching behind a chimney as another volley of colorful explosives painted the sky.

Looking down in his helmet, Mojo continued, "If I take this solution of toilet water and Chemical X and mix it with the proper ingredients that made the Powerpuff Girls," he swung to another building and finished, "then I can create three _rotten_ little girls! The combined power of six child supervillains will certainly be more than enough to overtake Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup! For six is twice the amount of three, and three is what they are, and six is what _I_ shall have created!" Once again, Mojo threw his arms up victoriously and laughed maniacally, his menacing frame outlined by a backdrop of fireworks. "And this time, I shall be the victor, the winner, the champion!"

When his bought of evil laughter was finished, Mojo Jojo travelled once again under the cover of darkness, eagerly anticipating the advent of his next project the following day.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was the morning after the firework show, and the sky was overcast, promising rain sometime later that day. The winds blowing between the battered buildings of the ghetto were bitterly cold, and the few pedestrians walking about the narrow streets moved ever faster against it. One such individual, a young child entirely concealed by a black, adult-sized trench coat, made his way towards a worn-down pub at the end of a dead end street, which bore a banner inscribed with the name "The Lucky Clover". Despite the fact that a "Closed" sign was hung up on the door, the boy knocked twice on it. Immediately, a slot opened up at the top of the door, revealing a pair of large, ocean blue eyes that peered through suspiciously.

"Password please!" a raspy voice called from inside the pub.

"Cut the crap and open the door, Boomer!" A similarly raspy yet irritated reply came from the boy in the trench coat.

The slot was shut, followed by the sounds of chains and locks being undone. The door opened with a creaky whine, and the boy in the coat stepped inside.

The pub was as filthy and dilapidated internally as it was externally. The space overall was one pitiful room with boarded up windows on every wall. The bar itself was coated in dust, and the liquor cabinets behind it were tragically bare, having been that way since the establishment closed. There were three freshly-stolen, twin-sized beds in the three remaining corners of the pub, and at the center of the room stood a dining table and three armchairs, also purloined. Noticeably, there was hardly any light coming from the ceiling lamps in the room, as if power had not fully returned to the building after the events of the previous night.

The boy who had opened the door stepped back a few paces and seated himself in one of the chairs around the table. His blue and black long-sleeved shirt had grimy smudges in several places, as did his black pants and sneakers. His blonde hair was parted down the middle and unkempt, as if he hadn't washed or brushed it in weeks.

Upon entering the pub, the coated boy reeled back and gagged on the air around him. "Jeezus, Boomer, you reek!" he chided while beginning to unbutton his trench coat. "What the heck did you do today?! Go dumpster diving?!" He threw off the top half of the garment, revealing his long ginger hair, brushed back into a mullet, and serious crimson eyes. The boy straightened his red baseball cap before removing the coat entirely and tossing it to the side indiscriminately.

The blonde, Boomer, looked at his brother with slight shock. "Umm…I kinda did…" His gaze fell to the floor, and he appeared slightly ashamed. "It was fun…I thought I'd find something cool…"

The redhead stared back at his brother with a cold grimace on his face. He knew that Boomer wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, so to speak, and the only way to make him man up was with a bit of tough love. However, Brick's day had been extremely hectic between stealing some poor sap's expensive-looking trench coat, which he planned to pawn at some point, and trying his hardest to avoid a confrontation with the Powerpuff Girls. So, at the moment, he didn't feel up to putting Boomer in his place.

Brick groaned in aggravation and murmured, "Just don't do it again or I'll smack your stupid face with a bar of soap." Brick did not wait to see if Boomer would reply to this; he knew the younger boy wouldn't dare to talk back to him. Instead, the redhead floated lazily over to his bed and plopped down, folding his arms behind his head and crossing his legs. "By the way," Brick added, opening one eye and furrowing it, "where the heck is Butch?"

As if on cue, someone began incessantly knocking, and a slightly unnerved Boomer flew over to answer it. The moment Boomer unlocked the door, a third boy rocketed into the pub. The newcomer had spiky jet-black hair, forest green eyes, and a green and black shirt, paired with pants and shoes identical to Brick and Boomer's. He hovered in midair, clutching a stack of newspapers that seemed too massive for a person of his size. All the while, he was sporting a scowl that could intimidate an army drill sergeant.

"It's about time you showed up, Butch," Brick teased, not moving from his comfortable position. "I didn't know you read the paper. What are you, ninety?"

Dropping the newspapers to the ground, Butch retorted, "Reading?! As if! I flew all around Townsville today and snatched up these cruddy newspapers 'cuz I wanna start a bonfire and burn _their_ stupid faces in it!" He snatched up one newspaper and gestured to the article on the front page, which displayed a photo of the three Powerpuff Girls in heroic poses. "Just look at those drama queens! They make me sick!" The green-eyed boy then tossed away the paper, which sailed into Boomer's unsuspecting face. The blonde removed the projectile and, rather than retaliate, actually began to skim the pages curiously.

Brick flew over from his bed and grinned evilly down at the offensive publications. "You know what we _could_ do," Brick thought aloud, "is wrap up some dog poop in these newspapers, set them on fire, and place them outside doorsteps the next time we ding-dong-ditch," He placed a hand comfortingly on Butch's shoulder and continued, "Either way, we get to destroy these stupid things. Then maybe we can focus on breaking Mojo Jojo outta jail."

"Umm…guys?" Boomer spoke up, his eyes peeking out from behind his newspaper. "Mojo already broke out yesterday!"

"What?" Brick and Butch interrupted in unison.

The blonde looked up at his brothers with slight excitement and nodded. "It's true! Oh! And here's an article about some tomb in Egypt that's super old with a ton of gold and-"

Before Boomer could finish that sentence, Brick tore the paper out of his hands and quickly found the article. It only took up a quarter of the third page and the font was so small it was nearly illegible. Butch and Boomer sat in silence, and with only slight difficulty, Brick read aloud the following print:

...

Townsville Students Uncover Temple's Treasure Trove

By: Archie O. Logist

Two weeks ago, a team of archeology and anthropology students from Townsville Community College traveled to the ruins of the ancient city Bubastis, located on the Nile River delta. During an excavation of the city's temple, a hidden passageway was uncovered, much to the delight of the group. An exploration party was immediately dispatched to see what secrets the tunnels beneath the temple could contain, but their progress was halted by unforeseen hazards. The Egyptian government has claimed ownership of the passageways and any artefacts that might lay within, but the students have received permission to aid in further excavation of the temple.

If local legends are to be believed, these tunnels may house a wealth of gold, jewelry, and ornaments dating back to the New Kingdom of Egypt. Historians claim the temple was used as a place of worship for their lion goddess, Bast. Seeing as the cult of Bast was disbanded centuries ago, experts suspect that any historical records uncovered from the temple's hidden chamber will reveal much about Egyptian customs and beliefs during this era.

Who knows what secrets will be uncovered that had once been buried in the sands of time?

...

Upon finishing his narration, the red-eyed boy looked up from the paper. He stared blankly at the empty space in front of him, as if contemplating this new information. Then, his mouth curved into a wide, devious grin.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Since the days of the pharaohs, Egypt had been renowned for its material riches, scenic landscapes, and architectural masterpieces. Tourists worldwide dreamed of the day they could sail down the longest river in the world and stand before the infamous pyramids, all the while snapping photos to preserve those memories for a lifetime. To sit through a movie or cartoon about undead mummies chasing intrepid archaeologists was one matter, but to personally visit the exotic land in all its majesty was a fantasy come true for many, even if it was rather costly.

In a way, this was exactly the experience that Brick, Boomer, and Butch were anticipating as they rocketed away from Townsville. Being local villains in the Powerpuffs' resident city, they relished the opportunity to spread some chaos where their counterparts would never suspect it.

Brick wondered briefly why he hadn't thought to do this before. Perhaps it was because he secretly enjoyed their ongoing turf war against the girls, but if he did, it was likely subconscious and certainly not his primary motivation for causing trouble.

The imposing sun over the arid desert expanse did absolutely nothing to impede the trajectory of the Rowdyruff Boys. To unsuspecting civilians below, they were mere red, blue, and green streaks that flashed briefly across the sky before vanishing. Most witnesses likely blamed the heat.

"Brick!" hollered Butch at the top of his lungs. One of the perks of being a chemically generated superhuman was the ability to miraculously hold a conversation whilst travelling faster than the speed of sound. "Where the frick is this place?! I'm getting bored!"

The redheaded leader glanced at his brother and replied, "I think we're getting close! Just can it, bro!"

Brick wasn't precisely sure where the ruins were located, but the article had referenced the "Nile River Delta", whatever that was. So logically, he opted to follow said river until he found some dilapidated structure or something of the sort. Given the boys' abilities, it would take no more than a minute to scour the river in its entirety. More likely than not, Butch was only complaining to get attention, Brick suspected.

Surprisingly to Brick, Boomer was the first to locate their target. "Guys! Look over there!" He jabbed one stubby arm forward and his brothers decelerated to see what lay below.

Resting beside the chaotic current of the cataracts was a level space fenced off by security tape and dotted with tarps and pop-up canopies. People in uniform, presumably government agents, patrolled the perimeter while a few archeologists milled about with their digging equipment. The only indications that the ruins were even there were a partly exposed sandstone column and a dark opening in the ground, the latter of which snatched the boys' attention immediately.

"You see that?" Brick asked rhetorically, lowering his voice to its typical volume. "Look how those chumps are walking around! It's like they think they own the place!"

"Let's rough 'em up and steal the treasure!" Butch suggested whilst grinning madly.

Brick clenched his fists in determination. "Just what I was thinking! Blow 'em back, boys!"

Arranging themselves in aerial formation like fighter jets, the boys released volley after volley of colored energy beams. Screams of terror and surprise rang out immediately as the blasts blew sand, rock, and even a few people into the air.

As Butch and Boomer eagerly tore apart the canopies and machinery, Brick methodically targeted the guards first, incapacitating each of them with his energy beams before they could raise their firearms to retaliate.

The past five years of Brick's life had taught him that strategy was not a waste of brainpower, as he had once believed. Mojo Jojo had emphasized that no evil scheme could succeed without a proper planning stage, and as the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys, Brick had adopted this line of thought. His go-to strategy was simple: eliminate the most threatening opponent before sweeping away the excess grunts and cronies. This was why, in recent years, he tended to brawl with Buttercup more than her sisters, as she seemed to exert the most physical strength of the three.

Within mere moments, the one-sided battle was over; the ravaged dig site was abandoned as archeologists and agents alike fled for their lives.

Invigorated by their success, the villainous children exchanged high-fives with one another before they descended and approached the opening to the underground passage.

The blue and green Rowdyruffs waited eagerly for their brother to give the word before plunging into the uncharted depths. Brick silently acknowledged this and gave them a wicked smile as he took the lead.

The stairs descended for about twenty feet before the boys reached a narrow corridor. The sunlight filtering in from the opening couldn't reach them anymore, but this wasn't an issue. Their enormous eyes offered excellent visibility in the dark.

Brick and Butch refrained from sightseeing, but Boomer's curiosity overwhelmed him, and he directed his attention to his left and right as he walked behind his brothers. Scrawled on nearly half the walls' surface area were innumerable lines of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Boomer couldn't imagine how long it would take to translate them all into English, and even if they _were_ written in English, he'd never dare to read them all while his brothers were nearby.

In the boys' five years of villainy, each of them had developed into distinct individuals. Gone were the days of equal partnership, for Brick had undoubtedly asserted his dominance over both of his brothers, both subliminally and directly. Mojo Jojo hadn't neither approved nor disapproved of Brick's nasty attitude, but nonetheless claimed that he was "shaping up to be a fine evil mastermind".

Butch had certainly changed the least, still retaining the primal, explosive attitude he had had since birth. The only difference now was that Butch followed almost every plan Brick devised to a tee. Brick had discovered how to direct Butch's indiscriminate brutality towards a given purpose so that the green Rowdyruff was unintentionally doing his bidding. However, this method only worked when Butch was in a destructive mood. Outside of battle, he often clashed with Brick for control over videogames, the TV remote, and other mundane topics.

Boomer was an entirely different case altogether. Submissive since the start, he only grew more introverted as his brothers became crueler and bolder. The blonde still considered himself a villain, but he had far fewer liberties within the group than Butch, let alone Brick.

At times it felt to Boomer as though Brick wanted to make an example of him, even when doing so was completely unnecessary. Rather than confront his brother or defend himself, Boomer opted to quietly tolerate the abuse while exploring his own interests on the side. He hoped he would learn more about himself if he found a distraction and used it to escape the toxic environment his brothers had created, if only occasionally.

One startling fact he had learned in doing so was that he actually _liked_ reading. He didn't limit himself to comic books, like his brothers did. Boomer found himself legitimately interested in reading books without pictures.

It was almost a paradox that the notoriously dim-witted member of the Rowdyruffs would be the most well-read. Perhaps he wasn't stupid after all, he thought, but simply unmotivated. What mattered was that now he had a coping mechanism that could bring him peace _and_ expand his mind.

When this realization of self-discovery first struck him, Boomer knew he would never be able to share this newfound passion with either of his brothers. He was already the target of their incessant torment for being physically weaker; if they came to the conclusion that he was a _nerd_ as well as a weakling, the abuse would only escalate. Once or twice, Boomer considered sharing his secret with Mojo Jojo, but abandoned the idea instantly when he imagined the simian accusing him of "wasting time" when he could be committing evil deeds with his brothers. For the same reasons, Boomer elected to keep his secret from Him as well.

Thus, the blue Rowdyruff bottled his darkest secret away, only indulging himself when he was 110% sure it was safe to let his mind escape into the pages of a good book.

Most days, Boomer's idiotic façade was as sturdy as a concrete wall. It was times like these, however, when he couldn't help himself from gazing hungrily upon the ancient inscriptions, wondering who could have taken the countless hours to paint them. He found himself wishing desperately for a camera so he could document them for later. Maybe after he and his brothers made off with the treasure, Boomer could come back and simply wander the tunnels with a translator by his side. It wasn't as if the building itself was going anywhere, even if its wealth was about to be stolen.

As Boomer's eyes skimmed across the walls, they halted and clung to a single image. Brick and Butch didn't seem to register that their brother had stopped walking and moved ahead without him. Boomer, likewise, didn't notice their departure. His eyes were glued to the mural laid out before them.

Framed on all sides by hieroglyphics, which likely provided an explanation for what Boomer was looking at, was a cryptic scene depicted in vibrant colors. A crowd of plainly dressed people were kneeling in reverence before a man in more sophisticated attire. From the lack of a regal headdress, Boomer judged that the guy certainly wasn't a pharaoh. His hands were raised towards a catlike idol, which seemed to be hovering in midair while an orange aura engulfed it. In the background of the painting stood a temple by a river, all beneath a massive, detailed sun.

Boomer remembered from the newspaper article that lions were apparently worshipped by the ancient Egyptians. So if this temple was dedicated to the lion goddess, then who was that not-pharaoh and why were people bowing to _him_? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to bow to the statue?

Before Boomer had the chance to ponder this further, his arm was yanked sharply and he was thrust back into reality.

"Boomer! Why'd you stop, you idiot?!" Brick bellowed. Butch stood a short distance away, a pleased smirk plastered on his face at the sight of Boomer being disciplined.

Boomer's mouth failed to form coherent speech. "I…uh…I was-"

Brick held up a hand to silence his blonde brother. "You know what? I don't care! Just don't go daydreaming again or you won't get a souvenir from the treasure room."

"Which we already found, no thanks to you!" Butch added proudly, folding his arms. "I even broke all the traps on the way by myself!"

"Yeah, you did good, Butch," Brick complimented, although there were traces of irritation in his tone. "But less talking, more raiding!"

With no more traps to be wary of, the boys elected to fly down the hall. Eventually, they reached a gigantic hole, a recent renovation by Butch. Boomer found himself gawking for the second time that day as he entered the chamber.

On the left side of the room lay mounds of gold coins and gemstones of all sizes, cuts, and colors. Without a doubt, this was what the boys had come here expecting to find. But on the right was a variety of seemingly random, everyday items from centuries past. The collection included rugs, silverware, tables, chairs, statues, jars, and even a boat, all strewn about in no discernable organization.

"Butch!" the redheaded Rowdyruff barked. "You brought the bag, right?"

"No! I thought _you_ had the bag!" Butch countered defensively.

Slowly, both boys turned their menacing gazes expectantly towards Boomer.

Understanding immediately what they needed, Boomer hastily reached into his back pocket and offered Brick what appeared to be a simple burlap sack. In reality, it was one of Mojo Jojo's most recent inventions: an ever-expanding bag with more than enough distorted volume for all the loot.

Brick snatched the sack away and plopped it down in the center of the room. "Gather all of it up! I wanna leave this place _spotless_!" he ordered, floating towards the nearest pile of coins.

"Can do!" affirmed Butch as he joined Brick in gathering up the ancient currency.

Boomer decided to begin on the right side of the room, stacking miscellaneous items on top of one another before dropping them in the infinite bag. He made several uneventful trips this way. On his third round, however, he came across something that rendered him speechless.

Lying haphazardly on its side beneath one of the rugs was an idol. It was roughly the size of a beer bottle and made entirely of pitch-black stone. The statue itself was of a sitting cat with golden jewelry and its tail curled around to its front paws. It had a commanding presence about it, as if it alone held the answer to an unsolved mystery of the universe.

Boomer instantly recognized it from the mural. It was the one depicted with a swirling orange aura, floating before the not-pharaoh.

An alien sensation welled within Boomer's gut, akin to a blending of sympathy and protectiveness. He couldn't let his brothers take this artefact and mistreat it. Strangely, he felt it deserved better than to collect dust on some shelf in the Lucky Clover or be pawned away to some uncaring black market vendors. This object, which had inexplicably captured his heart, was too precious for just anyone to handle. It needed _him_. He didn't know how he could sense this, but Boomer felt obligated to protect this one item above all the rest.

But how would he get it out of the temple without Butch and Brick noticing? He couldn't just put it in the bag and expect to steal it back later. Knowing Brick and how he operated, Boomer suspected the redhead wouldn't let the treasure leave his sight for an instant. Even though Brick had promised to let them each take home a souvenir, Boomer knew deep down that Brick would probably steal his souvenir anyway just to toy with him.

The blue Rowdyruff knew he would have to act swiftly and decisively if he hoped to save the artefact...

...so he swiftly and decisively shoved it into his massive mouth and held it there with his tongue. He felt his cheeks for any suspicious bulges and found none. The idol fit perfectly within his mouth. As long as Brick didn't make him talk for the rest of the trip, this plan _couldn't_ fail! With the idol secure in its hiding place, Boomer went back to gathering the rest of the artefacts as if all was well.


End file.
